To Love Somebody
by s3xyBATbaby
Summary: How does a proud, temperamental tough-guy swallow his pride and tell the girl of his dreams how he truly feels? Sharkboy has no idea, but he has never been more determined to complete a mission.


Lavagirl was sitting under an old peach tree, watching Sharkboy walking up the beach toward her, unable to help the smile that appeared every time she saw him.

He had grown tremendously in the past few years, and had become even more attractive than ever! Of course, she couldn't tell him that. As far as he's concerned, they're just friends.

"Hey," he smiled, sitting down next to her. The smell of fresh sea-salt and hair-gel reached her, and she couldn't help but notice the way his sleeves fit so comfortably over the curves of his biceps.

Wooh! Never thought she, of all people, could notice a room becoming this hot. She literally felt the glow of a blush on her cheeks.

Sharkboy was looking the other way, and she noticed him biting his lip. Usually it was near impossible just to get him to stop talking, especially about how 'awesome' he is at being King of the Ocean. Maybe something was wrong?

"Uhm, Lavagirl, how long have we been friends?" he began. "About nine years now. Why, you tired of me already?" she joked, lightly shoving him against his shoulder. He smiled, but still didn't look at her.

"Almost," he joked back, but then he became serious. "It's just...well, can I tell you something?" She frowned, alerted by his unusual shyness.

"Sharky, you can tell me anything. You should know that by now." He hesitated, looking like he was going to say something like finding a giraffe in the middle of the ocean; concerned that he might sound like a complete idiot.

"Well, uhm...I, you know...I, may, in a certain way...definitely...maybe...kinda...completely" He hid his next words. "Likeagirl."

"Huh." She didn't catch a single word of that. Were those real words? Sharkboy sighed in defeat.

"I...I like a girl, okay?!" Silence.

Lavagirl suddenly burst out in a fit of laughter, nearly losing her balance. Sharkboy frowned, not very impressed by her reaction. Finally, she managed to calm herself down.

"Shark...that's your big secret?" He only pouted. "C'mon, that happens all the time. Really, I don't know what you were so nervous about."

Then, it sunk in: he liked another girl. Although she didn't show it in any way, she felt her heart breaking at the thought of another girl being with him. She pretended to be interested.

"So, who is she? The Ice Princess?" He replied almost immediately. "Ew, no! I swear I would wake her up in the middle of the night and tickle her feet just to see if she can friggin smile! No wonder she lives in a cold, hard place."

She smiled at this. "So, who is it then?" There were a lot of teenage girls on Planet Drool now, due to Max's new-found obsession (let's rather not get into that). Sharkboy looked down again, a blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Well, she's...sweet and kind. Always willing to help people out. I've been crazy about her since the day we met. She's simply amazing, blows my mind every time I have the honor of just being with her. She lights up my whole world, and just makes life worth living."

As she listened to this, she turned her face away from his so that he wouldn't see the single tear that had escaped.

"She's always there when I need her, and all I've ever wanted to do is to make her happy. I would give anything for her, and she just has a way of controlling me like a puppet, only she would never truly need strings, I would really do anything for her."

She would've run away by now, but she felt privileged to stay and listen to what was in his heart, even if it means breaking her own.

"She...she is known as light." She frowned at this. What did he mean by that?

"Only, her light doesn't really come from the lava she controls."

Wait.

"It comes from her. From her smile, from her beautiful laugh, from the way her dark eyes light up. From her heart. The galaxy doesn't have enough stars or suns to even try comparing to the light she ignites in me." He took a deep breath, as if preparing for something. "I love her. I guess I always have."

She felt his hand resting on hers, where it was positioned to support her. As his hand closed on hers, she couldn't help but return the gesture. She looked back at him, nearly forgetting how to breathe as pure kindness and love shined in his eyes.

"Now, the only question is...does she like me back?" She could barely register the question, but managed a nod.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure...I know she does." His smile brightened and he put an arm around her waist, pulling her closer and holding her against his chest.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me," he whispered. "I was really scared you might not like me at all." He pulled back a bit, just enough to look at her. "Really don't know what I would've done if...well, never mind."

She smiled again, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted from her. "I, uhm...I love you, too, Sharky," she whispered, feeling as if she had waited an eternity to be able to say that. He smiled at her, holding her closer to him.

It was a little hard to keep herself cold enough for him to hold her, but somehow she managed. He came closer to her, his face only an inch from hers, making her heart do a complete back-flip.

Finally, after what felt like a century, his lips landed on hers in a soft, sweet kiss. Her arms automatically found their way around his neck as she held him closer to her.

When he pulled away, she had to hold on to him to steady herself, her balance completely thrown. She looked back up at him, finally able to show the love and affection she has hidden from him for so long.


End file.
